Tag: pipeline

Germany’s neighborhood is getting pretty dangerous. Civil wars are raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. Democratic institutions in Turkey, Hungary and Poland are under assault. Iran and Saudi Arabia are locked in a mini-cold war that could turn nuclear. Finally, the European Union is politically and economically weak. The Russians are exploiting all four of these situations to push the West farther from their borders. Bringing countries like Ukraine, Syria and Hungary into Moscow’s orbit would be ideal for Putin, but he will settle for simply keeping these countries at odds with the West. Of course, a bunch of Eastern European kleptocracies hooked on cheap Russian gas would be a disaster for Germany. This is why Germany is reluctantly asserting itself in international affairs again. This game simulates the West’s efforts to keep Eastern Europe and the Middle East in its orbit. You play Germany, and you win this game by taking control of as many regions on the map as you can.

RUSSIA REASSERTS ITSELF IN EASTERN EUROPE

It is no secret that Vladimir Putin is trying to destabilize the European Union using the following tactics:

1) Creating frozen conflicts with nations bordering Russia to keep these nations out of NATO and the EU. Russia has openly occupied parts of Georgia and Ukraine in an attempt to keep these countries from formally allying themselves with the West.

2) Threatening to cut off supplies of natural gas to central European nations such as Hungary and The Czech Republic.

3) Supporting nationalist, anti-EU political parties. The UK has already voted to exit the EU. France might be next. Russia did not create these movements, but the Kremlin will help them in any way that it can.

4) Hacking. They did it to sway the US election. They are undoubtedly hacking to sway European elections as well.

5) Worsening the refugee crisis by interfering in the Syrian Civil war. Forcing Syrians to flee their homes is probably not Russia’s primary objective. However, Russian actions have undoubtedly made Europe’s refugee crisis even worse, emboldening right wing, anti-EU political parties across the continent.

With the US becoming increasingly isolationist, and the UK and France preoccupied with internal anti-EU revolts, Germany must save Eastern Europe from the Russians.